


this love won't break your heart

by AveryTheTitaniumLady



Series: Our kind of love [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: A moment of angst, Alex Has Anxiety (Julie and The Phantoms), Before Death, Bisexual Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby is mentioned, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Boys Will Be Boys, Drinking, Fluff, Gay, Guitar, Internalized Homophobia, Kissing, Love, Luke is a Tease, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, Reggie likes country, They've each had like 3 beers maybe, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Truth or Dare, Underage Drinking, but its very minor only one paragraph dw, no one is straight, once - Freeform, set in 1995, this is all safe sane and consensual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:43:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AveryTheTitaniumLady/pseuds/AveryTheTitaniumLady
Summary: It's New Year's Eve 1994 and Alex is a little tipsy when he suggests they play truth or dare, but it's Reggie daring Luke to play Achy Breaky Heart that really gets the ball rolling.
Relationships: Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: Our kind of love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986427
Comments: 25
Kudos: 412





	this love won't break your heart

**Author's Note:**

> Have some loving, fluffy boys realising they love each other in more ways then they'd realised <3 I wrote this while listening to two songs, Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus and This Love Won't Break Your Heart by Annalise Emerick (the title of the fic, naturally), so feel free to give those a listen. I hope you enjoy!

It was New Years Eve 1994, and Reggie, Luke, and Alex were chilling in the garage where they practiced. Bobby had gone to a party with his most recent fling and left them to their own devices only a few hours ago, but between then and now the three of them had managed to get a bit tipsy. It wasn’t intentional really, it was just that even though they were drinking slowly, whenever one of them finished a beer and went to grab another, he’d grab one for the other two as well. 

Alex was a bit further gone than Luke and Reggie, his alcohol tolerance embarrassingly low. It was his idea to start a game of truth or dare, but the boys quickly agreed and soon enough they were all doing handstands and eating exceedingly weird combinations of the limited food options in their mini fridge. It was only when Reggie dared Luke to play “Achy Breaky Heart” that the game really started to get good. 

“C’mon man! You know how I feel about country!” 

“Should’ve thought of that before you used your free pass to get out of eating a pickle dipped in peanut butter, huh?” 

Since his puppy dog eyes weren’t making Reggie budge, Luke turned them on the only other person in the room. “Alex, bro, don’t make me do this. Please.”

Alex bit his lip, a grin fighting it’s way onto his face. “Sorry, Luke. The sooner you play the sooner it’s over.” 

From his position laying on the floor, Reggie tossed a piece of popcorn at Luke and gave him an expectant look. With a sigh, Luke stood up from the couch and walked over to his guitar, sitting down with it on the stool. He shot one more pleading look at Alex, but all he got was apologetic eyes and a smile hidden behind a hand. Reggie was just shaking with laughter, so with one more long groan for good measure, Luke began to play. 

“ _You can tell the world you was never my girl, you can burn my clothes up when I’m gone…"_

Reggie immediately sat right up like this was the best thing he’d ever seen, and Alex was almost inclined to agree. Luke might’ve hated country, but he still put his all into everything he played… and he sounded really, _really_ good. Alex could feel a blush working its way across his cheeks, so he tore his eyes off of Luke and flipped his hood up, sliding off the couch to join Reggie on the floor. Reggie… who looked like he was also blushing?

Luke had his eyes closed, his voice going gravely as he got more into the song. “ _Or you can tell my lips, to tell my finger tips, they won’t be reaching out for you no more…_ ”

Alex could feel his heart speed up at the way Luke smirked when he said lips, and knew for certain that if he looked in a mirror his face would be the same shade of red as Reggie’s flannel. Glancing over, he shared a look with the bassist, both of their expressions just screaming “holy shit this is hot”. Which is not at all how Alex expected to feel while watching Luke sing a Billy Ray Cyrus song, and definitely not how he’d expected Reggie to respond. 

After three more minutes of beautiful torture, Luke reached the end of the song. He opened his eyes, gaze flitting between Alex and Reggie, and sang the final lines. “ _But if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart, he might blow up and kill this man._ ” 

His eyes were bright, and as Luke stared out at the two blushing boys sitting on the floor, Alex could see a knowing smirk spread across his face. He looked at Alex and winked before turning to Reggie and raising his eyebrows. “Well? Was it as good as you’d hoped?” He shook his head gently, eyes rolling up to the ceiling. “I can’t believe you dared me to play that song.”

“I- uh. Well. That _wasprettyhot_. Was- was GOOD! That was good. Good job. Yeah…” Reggie stared for a moment, looking like a deer in headlights before seeming to jolt back to himself. “Okay um, it’s your turn, you have to, you know, ask Alex. You’ve gotta ask Alex something now.”

Luke took off his guitar, placing it on its stand before walking back to his couch. He stepped over Alex’s legs on the way and sent him a knowing look. Alex felt himself flush impossibly more and sheepishly pulled himself back up to sit on the couch, pushing back his hood and making sure to keep a solid foot between himself and Luke. Reggie turned to face them, arms wrapped around his legs and face partially hidden in his knees. 

“Alex, truth or dare?”

Luke still looked way too satisfied for his liking, and Alex had the strangest feeling that this was a trick question, and no matter what his answer was he was going to be screwed. Might as well go with the one that seemed the least dangerous. 

“Uh, truth, I guess?”

Humming thoughtfully, Luke’s eyes flicked to Reggie and back. “Did you think that was hot, too?”

Reggie squeaked. Like, full on squeaked, eyes going wider than Alex had ever seen. And while Alex felt sure his expression was nearly identical, at least he hadn’t squeaked. Maybe dare would have been the safer option after all, at least then he could have used his free pass. 

Luke stared at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised, acting as if he hadn’t just heard Reggie make the most adorable sound ever. 

“Did I- Did I what?”

Luke leaned towards Alex, tongue flicking out to wet his lips, and Alex would have sworn he was staring right into his soul. Slowly and deliberately, he repeated his question. “Did you think that was hot?”

Alex felt the yes fall from his lips, so quiet that you would’ve had to be close enough to kiss him in order to hear it. 

“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Luke leaned back, moving away from Alex and turning so he was facing him and Reggie both. “Your turn now Alex, ask Reggie a question.”

 _I’m on fire_ , Alex thought to himself. His cheeks were burning and there was a warmth in his stomach that he didn’t think he’d ever felt before. His throat had never been so dry, and he hurriedly took a sip from the can in his hand before remembering that it was beer. He was pretty sure he didn’t want to be actually intoxicated if this was how Luke was going to be acting, so he put it on their makeshift end table of an upside down milkcrate. Looking at his best friends, Alex was amazed at how composed Luke looked in contrast to Reggie, who was a flustered mess with his jaw dropped open. He probably looked closer to Reggie than Luke, so it’s not like he could judge. 

There was something in Luke’s expression though, something that almost seemed… vulnerable? This wasn’t like the games Luke usually played, joking about his ~chemistry~, this was something more. A line had been crossed just now, and Alex was the one who got to decide whether they would take a step back… or if they would keep on going. He looked at Reggie, seeing the same thing in his expression as in Luke’s, and made his decision. 

“Hey Reggie, truth or dare?”

Seeming to have learned from Alex’s mistake, Reggie quickly said dare, lowering his knees til he was sitting criss-crossed and leaning back on his hands. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, the air in the garage electric. 

With an encouraging smile on his face, Alex stared right at Reggie. “I dare you to kiss Luke.”

Time stood still. Reggie went red all the way to the tips of his ears. Luke looked shocked, like he hadn’t actually expected Alex to keep going. He looked shocked, but not upset, not upset at all. After a few seconds had passed and Reggie still hadn’t done anything, was still just sitting on the floor, Alex started to worry. 

Luke seemed to deflate, his eyes going dimmer. “Reggie, you all good? I won’t even count this as your free pass if you don’t want to-”

“NO! I want to! I want to.” Reggie stood up suddenly, practically vaulting across the small distance between him and his friends. He sat down on Luke’s other side, fidgeting nervously with the edge of his flannel. 

“You- you want to?” Luke’s voice was small, broadcasting his nerves as easily as Reggie’s fidgeting. 

The bassist looked up, a smile spreading across his face. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.” 

Alex watched as Luke lifted up his hands, wrapping one around the back of Reggie’s neck and threading his fingers through the short hair there, his other hand coming up to touch Reggie’s cheek. They both leaned in, not quite sure where to look. It seemed like an eternity before they kissed, eyes drifting closed as their lips made contact. Luke began to move his mouth, pulling Reggie closer and rubbing his thumb gently across his cheekbone. Reggie’s hands flew up to clutch at the front of Luke’s tank top, gripping tightly at the fabric as if it was the only thing keeping him tethered.

They parted after a few seconds, noses brushing together as they breathed heavily. They each let their hands fall, and Luke turned so that he was facing forward again, letting Alex clearly see how destroyed Reggie was from a single, fairly chaste kiss. They all looked at each other, no one really knowing what to say until Reggie piped up. 

Still slightly breathless from shock or awe or something else, Reggie ran a hand through his hair. “Luke. Truth or dare?” 

Alex felt his heart sink. He’d been hoping that maybe one of them would kiss him too. Which was weird, he knew that! They were his friends, and he’d just dared them to kiss. They weren’t gay and he was gay so if they kissed each other it was fine but if they kissed him then it would be weird. But… he’d dared them to kiss and they seemed like they’d enjoyed it? So of course Reggie was going to dare Luke to kiss him again, and it wouldn’t be weird because neither of them were gay so they would probably just pretend to be kissing a girl or something. 

Wrenching himself from his thoughts, Alex tuned back into the scene in front of him, expecting to see his best friends smooching again. Instead, he caught the tail end of the dare Reggie was giving to Luke.

“-kiss Alex.”

What?

Before Alex could register what had been said, Luke was hovering over his lap, his face mere inches away. 

“Is this okay?”

Unable to speak, Alex simply nodded his head, swallowing anxiously. Unlike with Reggie, Luke simply grabbed Alex’s face with both hands and pulled it up to him. When their lips were gently touching, he waited for the drummer to make the next move. 

Working on instinct, Alex set his hands on Luke’s waist, gripping loosely. He tilted his head back a bit more and gently moved his lips against the other boy’s. Luke immediately started to kiss him back, settling more firmly into his lap. He kissed with the same single-minded intensity that he did everything else, like the only reason he was alive was to kiss Alex. It was… amazing.

Just as he was wondering if this was how he’d kissed Reggie too, Alex felt a hand land on his knee. Opening his eyes, he saw Reggie half-standing, half-kneeling on the couch beside him. As Luke drew back from the kiss, Reggie leaned in. 

“My turn.” With a smile, he placed a kiss on Alex’s lips. He wasted no time getting right into it, and moments later Alex felt another pair of lips working their way up his neck. He unwillingly let out a little sound. Not like the squeak that Reggie had made earlier, but a small breathless whine that escaped from him much like the “yes” from earlier. 

Though the sound had been muffled by Reggie, the lips on his neck paused, barely lifting off his skin. “Now _that_ was hot.”

Alex would have been embarrassed if Reggie wasn’t still ravaging his mouth. As it was, all he could do was raise an arm and gently nudge Luke’s face back into the crook of his neck. 

Luke kissed his way up to Alex’s face, and when he reached his lips he pulled Reggie away, one hand behind his neck and the other tangled in Alex’s hair. He gave both of them a look filled with so much emotion, a look that screamed “Thank you” and “I love you”, and they sent the same look right back at him. 

Alex tilted his head up and placed a gentle kiss on Luke’s lips, then Reggie’s, and then he pushed them towards each other. As his bandmates leaned in and shared their small smooch, the clock struck midnight.

They could hear the fireworks going off and cheers erupting from all around the city, but there was no place the boys would rather have been than this garage, together. Luke, sitting on Alex’s lap, one hand in his hair and one hand in Reggie’s. Reggie, kneeling on the couch, one hand on Luke’s back and the other cupping Alex’s cheek. And Alex beneath them both, happier than he’d ever been. 

“Happy New Year, guys.”

Luke chuckled, running his fingers through the mess he’d made of Alex’s hair. “Happy New Year, Alex.” 

Pushing himself out of his half-crouch, Reggie plopped onto the couch beside Luke. “I don’t really believe in signs and stuff, but I think this year might be our best one yet. I love you guys. Here’s to 1995!”

With massive smiles on their faces, the other two boys repeated him. 

_Who knows_ , thought Alex, _maybe this is the year that Sunset Curve makes it big._

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on tumblr! [ @just-a-little-bit-of-sugar ](https://just-a-little-bit-of-sugar.tumblr.com/) and [ @blue-blurbs ](https://blue-blurbs.tumblr.com/)


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